


Danse Macabre

by caitastrophe8499



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: A pathetic attempt at mystery, Because who wants that noise, Character Deaths, F/M, Mythology References, Or mystery-adjacent, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-07-26 02:58:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20036785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitastrophe8499/pseuds/caitastrophe8499
Summary: I'd like to escape death nonethelessBut here I won't have any luckSara falls into Hell. She makes a deal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a relatively short thing. Just for fun.

The roar rattled Sara’s teeth, but she continued to cling to her precarious perch. The massive green monster - troll, Ray had muttered nervously - flailed with its humungous fists, but Sara dodged them, ducking down right against the skull of the monster.

“Open it!” she shouted.

Constantine, his coat flapping in the wind, hesitated, “You aren’t clear!”

“Do it!”

The warlock began speaking, and Sara tightened her legs over the troll’s shoulders, leaning down to grasp the forearm she’d wrapped around its neck to cut off its air supply. The monster began to sputter and cough, the blows he was aiming at her team weakening and slowing down.

“Get out of there,” Charlie called to her.

Sara shook her head. This monster had terrorized fifteen colonial villages and killed over a hundred innocent people. She had to be sure it wouldn’t be able to do it again.

Besides, the fight itself had been brutal already. Sara was only resorting to strangulation because her weapons had done nothing. Her thrown knives barely an irritation. Even more frustrating was that Zari’s magic seemed to roll off without effect. The troll was immune.

She heard the familiar blast of power as the portal opened behind her, the recognizable pull of energy as it dragged what was meant for hell towards it, that slow, inexorable drag to the depths. Sara tightened her grip as the troll fought both, but the monster’s arms lowered and the head began to loll forward. She loosened her arms after another moment.

“Boss!” Mick growled. “Any day now!”

Perhaps the troll wasn’t quite as stupid as it looked.

It threw itself backward, toward the portal and knocking the breath out of Sara. She wheezed, feeling her hair drifting toward the portal, and the rocks and pebbles beneath her began to shift toward the wall of energy.

The troll rolled over, leering down at her winded beneath it. Its jaws opened wide-

“Oi, ugly!” Charlie shouted, as a burst of flame exploded across its back.

Sara rolled away, digging her hands into the ground as Constantine intensified the drag of energy. She caught her breath, eyeing the situation.

Her team was working like a well-oiled machine, mostly. Constantine was concentrating, his hands outstretched as he held the portal open. Zari was next to him, keeping him from being distracted or injured, and avoiding a repeat of their disastrous fight with a Red Kap. Mick was burning the troll from the right, out of range of the portal, and keeping it from moving toward Sara again, looking a little too thrilled. Ray was still unconscious on his back to the left of the portal, the leg joint of his suit shattered from earlier. Sara wasn’t certain if he couldn’t move due to the suit’s damage, or if it went deeper. Charlie was standing in front of him, her fighting skills keeping the troll at a distance for now.

Charlie was also the closest.

Half-conscious, in pain, and being pulled to a hellish oblivion, the troll lashed out toward an easy target - one last victory. Its huge legs pulled him across the lure of the portal, away from Sara and toward Charlie, its clawed hands extending toward her and Ray.

The shapeshifter turned, attempting to lift Ray, her hands under his arms. “Come on,” she hissed.

“John!” Sara shouted, stumbling to her feet.

Sweat poured off of Constantine as he encouraged the portal to get even larger and stronger, hauling the troll a few steps closer, but it persisted.

Zari threw a buffet of air at it, but the magic bounced off of it, unnoticed by the monster, his claws scraping gouges in the earth by Ray’s feet.

It was being pulled - almost there, but not enough before it got to Ray or Charlie.

Charlie’s face was pale as she kept trying to pull Ray to safety, despite the danger to herself. Sara regretted ever bad thought she’d ever had about her.

She looked back at Mick, who was still trying to herd the beast toward the portal. He glanced at her, then did a double-take.

“Blondie, don’t!”

Sara lunged forward, every step away from the portal a painful battle. Her fingers scrabbled at the dirt as she moved forward, away from the troll and the portal. Once she was far enough away, she arced back, the portal helping her as she hurtled toward the troll, her team realizing too late what she meant to do.

“Sara!” Charlie shouted, still pulling Ray.

Throwing herself into the troll’s side, Sara’s momentum and form threw the troll off balance. She did what the portal alone couldn’t.

It fell, its claws slicing down and cutting through her side, and she fell with it.

Together, monster and bloodied Legend plummeted into the burning portal.

* * *

She didn’t remember hitting the ground.

When she awoke, her side was tacky with half dried blood, and her hands shook as she forced herself to her knees. She touched the comm at her ear, but it was unresponsive. Either dead or...out of range, she didn’t know. She had no weapons, no food, and no way to contact her team.

The only upside is that the troll was nowhere to be found, either.

Getting to her feet was a challenge, but she managed. Pressing her hand to her side, she tried to stem the bleeding, pushing it to the back of her mind as she’d done a thousand times before, and focused on her surroundings.

It was a deep, cavernous well. There didn’t seem to be any entrances or exits, save from the top, and she could see even the tiniest point of light above. Everything was faintly illuminated, but Sara didn’t see a source. Maybe the rocks themselves created the glow. Or the air. She’d seen weirder.

Walking the perimeter, Sara found no secret doors or disguised exits. Just cold, unforgiving stone, isolation, and darkness.

If she’d had any doubts to this being Hell, they were dispelled. This was her Hell. Alone. Buried. Forgotten. Helpless.

If this was to be her punishment, so be it. It was worth it to save those families, her team, and Charlie. But that didn’t mean she would go quietly into this eternal night.

“If you think I’m not going to throw the most epic bitch fit over this, you’ve got another thing coming,” Sara said to the darkness.

“So she speaks,” said a woman’s sultry voice, warm and honeyed, but with a hint of edge.

Sara turned and saw a wall of impenetrable darkness, leeching what little warmth and light there was in her Hellhole. A towering pillar of void, of absence, of nothingness. She could see nothing, smell nothing, sense nothing within the black, but a man's voice rolled out of the shadows, hollow and ringing with finality. It echoed off of nothing and everything, and it took every ounce of Sara’s strength not to fall to her knees, cover her ears, and weep until it stopped. She covered her ears, but remained upright and pained, but not crying. In fact, so much effort went into preserving what dignity she had left, that it took her a moment to decipher what he said.

“That fit will have to be truly epic to impress me. I’ve met Achilles, you know.”


	2. Chapter 2

The darkness melted away, almost literally. Drops of it peeled away from the wall and rolled backwards, until they met the edge of a black robe. They absorbed into the fabric like it was just more darkness and, as they edges of the robe shifted and misted, Sara realized it might have been.

Her attention was diverted from the shadow robe to the one wearing it. It was a man, though that seemed a simple word for him. A being. His face was pale, the pallor extending down strong shoulders and arms, to unordained hands, save a single silver ring, studded with a black stone. There was a streak of gray at his temples, though the casual disarray of his hair seemed at odds with the age shown in his eyes and the lines of his mouth. Foreboding dark brows frowned above slate gray eyes, and a nose that was too large to be attractive completing the pictures.

He gazed at her, and opened his mouth to speak again, but paused as she scrunched up her eyes in anticipation of the pain. He blinked, then nodded at her.

“It’s alright. I’ve turned it down.”

It was true. Though his voice seemed to echo still, it was quieter.

Sara lowered her hands, staring at him. “Who are you?”

“The question, my dear, is who are you?” he countered. “Any why are you here?”

“Sara. I came through a portal with a troll. Literally, not some d-bag from the internet.”

His lips twitched slightly. “So you’re the one refilling my prison.”

She didn’t mention she was also the one who had opened it. She was saved from responding by a woman stepping out from behind.

“So what are we going to do with you?” the woman asked, that smooth, dangerous voice again. Her curled, reddish-brown hair was half-up, flowers ringing her head in the deepest violet, blue, and red. A tattoo of green ivy and white flowers wound its way up her arm and across her collarbone, and Sara swore it moved and flared beneath the soft green gown. Even from here, Sara could smell her perfume - a mix of garden earth and the tang of ozone during a lightning strike. She wore jewelry - a gold arm cuff, gold studs and hoops that marched up both ears and on the right side of her nose. She wore several gold rings on both hands, and Sara could see an anklet beneath the dirt-stained hem of her gown.

“You could send me back,” Sara suggested without hope.

The man snorted, but the woman tilted her head. “I suppose we could. Though it’s never succeeded before.”

“Before?” Sara echoed.

“Do you think you’re the first living mortal to fall into the Underworld?” the man said to Sara. Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the woman. “My love, we don’t have-”

She hushed his with a calloused finger to his lips, though she almost had to get on her toes to make up for their disparities in height. “Destiny works in mysterious ways, my king.”

Now it was Sara’s turn to snort. It wasn’t destiny. It would never be destiny.

The woman ignored her. “A trial. There are always spirits eager to return.”

Sara’s anger faded slightly. “Spirits? The dead? They’re here?” Before she could tamp down her hope, it surged forward - she could see her father, Laurel, Martin, Rip, Len-

“Not all the dead,” the man said. “This is the Underworld. Creatures of myth. Epic heroes. There are other afterlives. Other eternal resting places.” He cocked his head slightly at Sara. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

Sara refused to drop her gaze as he stared at her, but didn’t respond.

The woman leaned against him, unconcerned as the shadows curled around her shoulder. “It’s been too long since we’ve made a bargain.”

“My love-”

“Please?” she asked.

The man sighed, waving his hand for her to continue. The woman grinned, teeth bright white against her dark skin.

Sara didn’t like the look of her smile, but kept her mouth shut.

“You have an opportunity to go back,” the woman said. “I will choose a spirit to guide you there. One who also wishes to return to the land of the living. The journey will be treacherous. We will guide you to the spirit, but then you and the spirit will be left alone. You could die. Permanently.”

She waited, as if expected Sara to argue or show fear. But, she’d been there, done that, already, so Sara merely lifted her chin.

The woman’s smile widened. “There are rules, however. You may not speak at all, once we leave this room. And the spirit may not look back until you have both stepped out into the light of the living. If you break your silence, the spirit will be sent on alone. If the spirit looks back, you will be sent on alone. If you both do as I have said, you will both return to the land of the living once you pass through the barrier.”

“There are many terrors here,” the man spoke up. “Terrible things that are outside of my domain. It will be dangerous.”

Sara shrugged. “So’s everything else.”

“Do you accept?” the woman asked.

“Of course I accept,” Sara said tiredly. “I don’t have any other options.”

The woman extended her hand, and Sara took it, after only the smallest hesitation. Her palm was warm but Sara still felt a slight shock as she made contact.

“The deal is made,” she said, smiling. “Follow us. And remember, no speaking.”

The man gestured lazily toward one of the walls, and a circular void opened up in front of them. The woman stepped through first, and the man waved his hand for Sara to go next.

Without a choice, she stepped through.

The dark was cold, bone-chilling, deep, and fathomless. There was no end to the cold, it swallowed every hint of warmth left in her, and her heart began to beat slower, and slower, and slower…

They exited the shadows and Sara had to bend over, clutching her knees as she breathed in the cold - but more natural cold - and felt her heart return to its normal rate, if now a little too fast.

The man stopped and looked down at her as she regained her composure. His brow arched, as if in amusement.

Sara opened her mouth to spit out something unfavorable, but he lifted his finger to his lips, and she cut herself off.

Right. No talking.

She pressed her lips together once she caught her breath. She straightened, and the man, who appeared to have waited for her, began to walk towards the woman, who was standing at the edge of a field of some kind.

Sara approached slower, stopping as the man held out his hand several yards away. She didn’t mind waiting further back, though, considering what she was looking at.

The woman took a few steps into the fields, and faded images of grey surrounded her, vaguely human shaped.

Spirits.

The woman seemed to be waiting for a particular shade, and when she found it, she pulled out a goblet from...somewhere. From here, Sara could see that it was filled with something thick and red, and more familiar to Sara than she might have wanted it to be. She was speaking lowly to the shade and holding the goblet up as the spirit leaned over it.

The man stepped to the side slightly, keeping Sara out of sight of the shade. He gestured with his hand and more shadows opened up.

The shade approached first, the smudgy blot where the face would be turned towards the shadows, obviously now familiar with the rules of this bargain.

The man stepped, clearing the path for Sara to approach the shadows again. She gritted her teeth, and started forward.

“Good luck,” the man said, his voice rolling like a cloud of thunder behind her.

She cut her eyes back at him, before turning back to the void.

The shade went through, their feet not even touching the ground as they glided forward.

Sara took a deep breath, held it, and stepped into the shadows again.


	3. Chapter 3

Weirdly, she wasn’t tired.

She’d been following her spirit guide for what had to be hours, and she only knew that because she’d counted to ten thousand. There’d been no discernible change in the odd, slightly glowing light that continued to emanate from some unseen source. No day, no night, just neverending twilight.

The spirit in front of her was still nebulous, but she heard them trying to talk. The way they whispered was disconcerting at first, shallow and without an echo. In fact, the only thing that seemed to make an echo was her footsteps. As the minutes turned into uncountable hours, the spirit’s voice grew a little louder. They didn’t seem to talk often, and the cadence of the words seemed to indicate they were just giving brief comments about where they were.

The scenery was...interesting, to say the least. The spirit led her through a large field, plagued with other shades. She fell behind her guide as they clustered around Sara, huddling against her like moths to a flame. The shadowy place where their arms were reached for her, and Sara could feel faint tugging on her jacket and hair. She tried to keep track of her shade, but they all clustered so close, and she couldn’t discern one from another.

Frustrated, she pushed through them, trying to find a glimpse of her shade, but it was useless. There were too many. She couldn’t get through them. She couldn’t call out. She couldn’t do anything, but be swallowed by the inescapable wave of shades that came towards her, hundreds, thousands, millions, and she couldn’t-

There was a...sound. A hushed shout. A voiceless yell, and the shades stopped, then withdrew from her, drawing back and away. Soon there weren’t any shades within twenty feet of her, save one.

Her guide was standing still, and from what Sara could discern, facing away from her, keeping their word.

Sara stepped towards him, her feet echoing.

The shade seemed to nod, then continued forward.

She stayed a little closer to the shade after that.

They left the field shortly after, and climbed a small hill. Ahead, Sara could see a thin chasm. Silently, she hoped they weren’t heading in that direction, but she knew better than to trust in hope right now.

She heard the faint whisper of her guide.

“This way…”

They headed towards the chasm.

* * *

The hike down to the chasm was treacherous, at least for Sara. Her guide seemed to have no issues with their footwork, not a single step pushing rocks out of place. Sara, for all of her training, seemed to stumble with every other foot, rocks shifting and skidding beneath her. Maybe it’s because her guide didn’t have any weight.

Catching herself at the edge of the particularly sheer drop, Sara stopped for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

Her shade stopped, shoulders and head slightly more defined than they had been in the field. She saw them tilt their head slightly, listening to her.

“Try to be careful.”

The voice was clearer now. It still sounded like there were multiple voices overlapping, but they all spoke a little clearer.

“You may be alive now, but take a far enough fall and that’ll be fixed.”

Sara wanted to snark back that it was easy when they were already a ghost, but held her tongue. She didn’t want to die down here. She didn’t want to die at all. This place was very different from the last few times she’d died. She hadn’t remembered much, but it had been warm. Softer. She’d felt safe.

That’s why it had been so hard to come back. Everything here hurt too much. It was too bright. It was all sharp edges and loud noises and too many people. Even now, years after coming back, sometimes it would still be too much. There were days where she had to fight not to cover her ears and lock herself away in the quiet.

But now, she wanted to live. She wanted the pain and too-bright sun. She wanted it, because at least it was living. She wasn’t great at it, but she was getting better. It had been easier, before she’d lost-

“You okay?” her guide whispered. Almost immediately, they spoke again, “Don’t answer that.”

She didn’t, though it was close. The “fine” she’d always tossed back to that question rose to her lips on instinct. Instead, she straightened and took a couple steps towards the shade.

The two of them made it to the floor of the chasm, sheer cliffs rising up on either side of them. Sara could hear rustling up high, and bit her lip to keep herself from asking a question. Her guide seemed to guess her thoughts, though.

“We’re in the Valley of the Furies,” they said quietly, their voice a little lower and slightly clearer once again. “We’ll have to move quickly. They might leave us alone. Might not. But they can’t hurt you. At least,” they paused, their head cocking to one side, “not physically.”

She did not like the sound of that.

They started down the center of the chasm, without much choice. Sara kept craning her head upwards, looking for these Furies, but failed to see anything.

“Word is you were sent here by mistake,” her guide said after a few minutes. Either the Furies weren’t drawn by voices, or they honestly didn’t care about what might happen if the Furies heard. Sara hoped it was the former, but made a note to dislike her guide nonetheless. “Some mistake that must have been.”

She kept quiet, noting that at least they weren’t asking questions. She was doing her best, but she might slip up.

“And now, if we don’t screw it up, we’ll both be on our way back to the land of the living.”

Sara just nodded to herself. She wasn’t going to screw this up.

“Of course, we’ll never make it.” The form was still blurry around the edges, but Sara could see the faint bump that might have been an ear or a nose. “These agreements never work out the way they’re supposed to. You’re going to talk, or I’m going to look, and it’ll all be over before it starts. It’s hopeless.”

Sara narrowed her eyes at them, clenching her teeth together.

“...hopeless…”

She flinched, looking up as a large form swooped past her, too quickly for her to really see it. Her guide jumped, but didn’t turn back.

“Don’t stop walking,” they ordered, their voice firmer than before, and sounding vaguely like a man beneath the whispers. “Keep going.”

Another flutter of wings, and a voice hissed in Sara’s ear, “...abandoned...”

She glared up, seeing one swooping down, not towards her, but her guide. The wings were that of a large bird but the face was a human woman, twisted in anger. She had long, black hair that writhed and twisted-

No, they were snakes.

“Coward,” she spat towards Sara’s guide, a snake winding its way around her waist, keeping the long, dark robes held together. “Killer.”

Her guide didn’t flinch, but kept walking forward. Sara was on his heels, even as another one landed next to her on the ground.

“Liar. Temptress. Unnatural scum.”

Sara glared directly at the Fury, but kept going, even as the woman kept pace with her, her hand reaching out for Sara as a snake slithered down her arm.

“Bringer of death. Anger. Hatred. Fear.”

One landed beside her guide, the snake lunging towards him, but its teeth snapped just inches from his form. “Selfish. Greedy. Cruel.”

“Promise breaker.”

“Impersonator.”

“Torturer.”

“Abomination.”

“Unnatural.”

“Cheat.”

“...murderer.”

“Murderer.”

“Murderer!”

_ “Murderer!” _

It came from all sides now, three women shrieking at Sara and her guide, their voices and venom striking deeply. Her guide began to speed up and Sara fell into pace behind him, jogging, running, sprinting towards the end of the valley and away from the monsters.

Something struck Sara’s shoulder and she winced, pressing her hand to the spot and biting back a swear when it came away bloody.

So much for not hurting physically.

With the Furies right on their heels, Sara and her guide ran to the mouth of the valley, the faint excuse for sunlight somewhat stronger here. As the Furies came close to it, they drew back from the pale light as if burned, but still they screamed after them, epithets and curses, bile and venom.

Her guide paused, his still-nebulous form weirdly straight and tense. “You there?” he asked.

Sara remained quiet, unsure how to answer.

He extended his hand backwards towards her. “Come on. Are you there?”

Reaching forward, Sara grabbed his hand, his form still not completely solid, but more firm than the shades in the field had been. He was cool to the touch, and there was more give to his hand than there should have been, but he was definitely there.

“Good,” he said, squeezing her fingers once before dropping them. “Let’s go. We might just make it through this after all.”


	4. Chapter 4

It was another couple of hours later before her guide spoke again.

“So, murderer, huh?”

Sara glared at the back of his head. His voice was almost clear now, but echoes still clung to it, making it distorted. Like she was hearing it through water.

“No judgment,” he said, waving his hand. “You heard my Furies, too. They weren’t lying.”

She stayed in step behind him, her hands shoved into her pockets as she walked. Her communicator was in her pocket, useless right now, but she was hopeful that she’d make it out, and it would become useful again. She played with it as she watched her guide walk along the path.

These woods were strange. The trees were tall and narrow, but seemed to sway back and forth without a breeze. Sometimes, she thought she heard people talking in the trees, and dogs baying in the shadows, but she never saw anyone other than her guide.

“I wasn’t the best person, either. You may have wandered down here by mistake, but I was sent here appropriately.” He scoffed quietly. “A couple of good deeds at the end don’t outweigh a lifetime of bad ones.”

Sara would have argued, if she had the voice to do so. She’d thought she was bound for Hell at one point, too. Maybe she was. But a good deed could outweigh a lot more than one thought. She believed it. She had to.

“Didn’t think I’d actually get a second chance at all,” he said, ducking beneath a branch that extended over the path. “Have to figure out if that clarity after death thing is actually true.”

She straightened, tucking her hair behind her ear. She wasn’t so sure. She’d died twice, and didn’t have much more clarity than before. Knowing what was important, sure, but still too unsure to act on it most times.

“I suppose you’ve got unfinished business, huh?” They reached a fork and he took the left road, towards the sound of water. “Things left undone and people left behind?”

Sara just nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

“Me too. Might be impossible to find them, now. I don’t even know how long it’s been. Feels like…” He cleared his throat. “It would be macabrely poetic if my team was dead, but even if there’s just a chance to make sure they’re okay, I’m gonna take it.”

Having not considered that time might move that much differently here, Sara was trying to count how many hours it had been, but she lost track at 8. Not including how much time she’d spent unconscious in that well. Where would she even be returned to? Would her comms work if she was in a different time? Ray had been working on it, but what if she was just stranded?

His hands were clearer now, and she could see his fingers tapping against his thigh. “I left someone behind. A few someones, but one in particular. I think I might have completely screwed it up.”

They reached the edge of the forest, with a short glade before a large river.

But it wasn’t full of water.

Shades, like the ones she’d seen before, they filled the large cut in the ground, flowing to the right. But it wasn’t a gentle current; it was a terrible pace, dragging them down to where she lost sight of them at a bend. And it wasn’t water she’d heard before.

It was the sound of voiceless screams. Billions of spirits, screaming as they were dragged down and away, out of sight and forgotten.

“River Styx,” her guide said. “Not the most pleasant place, I’ll grant you, but it’s also the border of the Underworld.”

He led her to the left, where a steep path led up, alongside a waterfall (freefall?) of spirits. Starting up, he was a little slower than when he was descending into the Furies’ chasm, and she wondered if that was because he was more solid.

“Rumor is that if you’re dipped into it, you’ll become invulnerable. Or you’ll die. The souls inside...best guess on which ones they were.”

Sara took a slight step away from the river, just in case. If they were this close, she wasn’t going to be taking any chances.

“Let’s go. Gotta hike in front of us.”

The climb was rough, and her guide even shut up for a few minutes until they reached the top. A few miles in the distance, Sara could see a bridge - that must be the place they were going to cross. Anticipation and giddiness rose up in her chest. They were actually going to do this.

He chuckled quietly, “Damn, we just might make it.”

Sara grinned, keeping pace behind him.

“Soon as I get out of here, I’m making a call. Finding my team, and...seeing if they’ll take me back.”

His voice became stronger and clearer the closer they got to the bridge. It was subtle, the whispers dropping off one by one.

“Can’t say I’m looking forward to the reunion, necessarily. I’m not sure what they’ll think. And if there’s one thing I hate, it’s uncertainty.”

The methodical way of speaking woke a sleeping chord in her heart, chiming through her head, but she couldn’t place it.

“Part of me says I should just move back to the city and not bother, but…” he sighed, his still insubstantial fingers tapping against his leg in a weirdly familiar way.

_ “Can you stop doing that?” _

Sara froze.

“I’m not missing out this time. Even if it’s not in destiny’s plan.”

His name was on her tongue, filling her mouth alongside all the other words she wanted to say. She pressed both hands over her lips, holding them in, but they reverberated in her, chiming alongside his voice-

“Screw destiny.”

_ Leonard-Leonard-Leonard _

He stopped, his head tilting slightly, his ear angling back towards her and his shoulders tensed. “I don’t hear you walking.”

Sara took a breath through her nose slowly, swallowing back everything she wanted to say until later - it had to wait.

Slowly, she lowered her hands, taking two louder steps toward him.

“Keep up, I’ve got places to be,” he said, still cautious.

Her hand drifted up to touch his arm, to assure herself this was real, but...she let it fall back down. She couldn’t risk him looking back, she couldn’t be sent on without him. Not again.

The giddiness faded, shock and sorrow spreading back up. He’d been here? But that man had said this wasn’t the eternal resting place of people. So how the hell did Leonard end up here of all places? In Hell? The Underworld? He deserved better.

How had she not recognized him?

The way he spoke, how he walked, all of that was so familiar to her, but it had taken her hours to realize it was him. Sure, he’d been fading into focus slowly, but...she should have known.

And he was nervous about returning? He didn’t know how they’d react? He didn’t know how much they’d missed him? Mourned him? Loved him?

How much she still loved him?

She and Ava had broken up shortly after they’d fixed Mr. Heywood’s insane circus plan. Ava may have said that thing about killing the creatures in the heat of the moment, but Sara was familiar enough with honesty to know that it was in those moments the truth came out. Ava’s job was more important to her than the creatures. And Sara’s opinion.

That had been the sticking point, though it was on top of a thousand other small items that never seemed like enough individually to end things. The breakup had been uncomfortable, and sometimes Sara missed her, but mostly she just felt relieved. She loved being Captain and now she didn’t have to put that aside to spend time with Ava. She didn’t have to shut down her own life to be part of Ava’s.

Single, Sara was content. Happy, even. She liked her life. But she missed having a partner. Someone to watch her back in fights and play cards with and drink with, who wouldn’t let her get too into her head and would argue against her when she needed it.

She’d missed Leonard.

“Stay close,” he said, and Sara nearly laughed, albeit a little hysterically. Like she would go anywhere right now.

“We’re almost there.”


	5. Chapter 5

In front of Sara, the river raged past, dragging souls down to...wherever. The bridge in front of her was stone, and thick, resting in the water and rising eight feet above to meet the edge, but narrow enough to be harrowing if someone attempted to walk across. 

Which is exactly what they had to do.

It looked to be about a hundred feet to the other side of the bank, and all below it souls rushed past, screaming and grasping against the bridge. Others clung to those who had gained a handhold, inevitably dragging them down.

“Well,” Leonard sighed, “no rest for the wicked.”

He stepped out onto the bridge, that fearless arrogance Sara both loved and despised only slightly less obnoxious now that he was already dead. Despite the fact that she rolled her eyes, Sara smiled faintly. That confidence, though grating sometimes, was something she’d always enjoyed and appreciated. That assumption he would always succeed, and he usually always did, in a way.

She walked behind him, closer than she had before. He wasn’t just some undead spirit guide any longer, this was Leonard. Her teammate. Her friend. Her…

She stayed close.

“Don’t touch the...water,” Leonard warned. “Spirits get dragged down, but I’ve never seen what happens to a live one. Rather not test it today.”

The narrow bridge wouldn’t allow them to walk across side by side, even if they wanted to. Sara stayed to the middle, the hands of the downing spirits scraping along the rock. Looking down, Sara met the eyes of one woman, who pleaded soundlessly with her, insubstantial tears streaming down her face and fading into the nebulous fog below. Another spirit grabbed the woman and dragged her down, her hand still reaching out for Sara.

She watched the woman sink beneath the bridge, but by the time Sara looked at the other side, she was gone, lost and forgotten in the flood of souls.

“Keep walking,” Leonard called.

Sara wiped her eyes, and looked up at Leonard’s back. He’d stopped on the bridge, head cocked to the side as he waited for her.

Straightening up, she followed him.

They were a third of the way across when the wind, which had been nonexistent from the beginning, started picking up. It tugged at Sara’s coat and hair, nearly pushing her off balance. Even Leonard in his shade form seemed to struggle to stay on the path.

“Hurry up!” he called back to her.

She plodded forward, hunching her shoulders against the wind, taking care where she put her feet and shuffling along, as quickly as she could. Leonard pulled ahead of her, not having to fight it as much, but soon they were two thirds of the way across.

The distance between them was spreading, enlarging with every second and she chewed her lip not to call out for him to slow down. The wind grew stronger, and she saw him stumble and fall to one knee.

He didn’t seem to register that he fell, his focus on the hand he’d thrown down to catch himself. Even from here, Sara could see the faint line of crimson on his palm.

He was bleeding.

He was  _ living _ .

Renewed hope forced Leonard to his feet, and Sara sped up, her smile in place despite the wind. They were going to make it. They were going to-

A burst of air slammed into them, and Leonard slipped, falling to the edge, but grabbing the handles on the other bank, hauling himself up and away from the water.

Sara, on the other hand…

She hit the bridge hard, and slid close to the edge. Giving up on fighting it, she began to crawl on her hands and knees, knocking the grasping hands of spirits to the side as they reached for her. The wind buffeted her again and she had to pause, a dozen feet or so from the edge.

The spirits grabbed her then.

Hands grabbed her ankles, trying to pull her over the edge. She scrabbled, her teeth going through her lip in an effort not to call out for help. She clung to the bridge, her hips and torso still on the ground, but her legs being hauled off the edge toward oblivion.

Leonard was at the end of the bridge, not quite off of it, his arms clinging to both handles of it, the buffeting of the souls still affecting him, but far less than they did Sara.

She could see the tension in his shoulders, up to his neck, the sheer effort it was taking for him not to look back to see if she was still there. He pulled himself up and threw out one arm behind him, reaching for her, but she wasn’t there.

“Come on!” he shouted, his other hand curling into a fist. “You have to make it!”

She wanted to, god, she wanted to, but the souls pulled her further down and he couldn’t look back to see. A soul slammed into her knees and she slipped another three inches towards the edge.

There was nothing he could do. Even if he made it back here, backwards, without being thrown off by the souls, there was no way he could knock them off of her without looking. There was nothing to be done.

It was over. They’d failed. Just like Leonard had feared, they’d failed. She’d failed. She’d dragged them down.

His shoulders sagged and the hand dropped, and even over the hissing, incomprehensible speech of the spirits, she heard his sigh.

“Dammit.”

He started to turn.

He was turning to save the nameless soul who’d wandered into hell, knowing that it would doom him. He was going to sacrifice himself so that someone else would live. Again.

How had he ever believed he wasn’t a hero?

But Sara had let him die for her sake once. She wasn’t going to do it again.

Never again.

“Don’t you dare, Len!” she shouted.

Leonard froze. The wind calmed and the spirits released her, pushing her back onto the bridge on her hands and knees. The noises stopped, everything stopped but the pant of Sara’s breath. It was silent.

Leonard’s chest began to glow, becoming almost blindingly white, but Sara didn’t look away from him. His edges starting to grow transparent, and Sara knew he was being taken back to the land of the living, just like the woman had promised he would be.

In the last moment, he turned, his blue eyes almost completely white as they landed on her for the first time since he died. She could still pick out the details of his face, even in the bright light. The slope of his nose, the harsh lines of jaw, the shadows in his eyes. He took one step towards her.

“Sara.”

The single word was filled with a thousand meanings, and she would remember it until the day she...well.

As the echo of her name vanished, so did he.


	6. Chapter 6

Sara blinked, and found herself in a completely new room. One without doors or windows, but walls that seethed with colors - blue-blacks, the deepest purples, stormy grays, colors she had no names for - every beautiful dark color in existence.

Even faced with the amazing beauty of the room, Sara found her breath coming a little shorter, the ache of tears behind her eyes. She took in a couple of breaths, getting herself under control. She knew what she’d done, and though she didn’t regret the choice, she regretted the lack of time.

She didn’t even have a chance to tell him she’d missed him.

Turning in place, Sara tried to take stock of her surroundings, but on her second rotation, she faced the tall man once more, the woman at his side.

“I’ll admit. I’m impressed,” was all the woman said.

The man chuckled, a deep, hollow sound that still managed to convey a sense of humor. “Is that all it took?”

She ran her hand along his arm, and smiled up at him. “It’s not over yet.”

The man didn’t appear to move, but suddenly he was in front of Sara. “Hello, little one.”

Sara swallowed, feeling smothered under...some feeling of amazement or insignificance. But it didn’t stop the anger from rising. “You said he wouldn’t be here.”

The man arched a brow. “Pardon?”

“You said,” Sara took a step forward, her hands in fists, “that only creatures of myth were here. That there were other afterlives. You said-”

“If you recall,” he interrupted, firmly but still gentle, “I also said epic heroes. Did you not think Mr. Snart qualified?”

“Of course he’s a hero,” Sara argued, a few tears escaping in her anger. “But myths-”

“Could also be called legends, don’t you think?”

Sara glared at him, chewing her lip. “And the others?”

“Were devout worshipers of their own religions, unlike Mr. Snart. I take everyone who’s left and distribute them fairly.”

“Who are you?” Sara asked, though in her heart, she already knew the answer.

“Do you know the story of Persephone?” he responded instead.

Sara wracked her brain for something to say. She knew it was mythology, and Ray had mentioned them in passing a few weeks ago after taking care of the Minotaur. 

“She’s Queen of the Underworld,” Sara said finally.

“Indeed,” he smiled. “And the Goddess of Spring. She wandered into the Underworld one day, and after learning about it and meeting the King, decided to remain. She ate six seeds of the pomegranate to stay six months out of the year. The other six,” he paused, and Sara saw a flicker of emotion go through the fathomless, dark eyes, “she spends above, and brings Spring and Summer to the living.”

The woman walked forward, and Sara could see a faint crown on her head, that flickered in and out, a shadow crown that vied with the dark brown of her hair and skin. She saw the flowers embroidered into her gown and woven into her hair, beautiful flowers that Sara didn’t know the names to.

Sara lowered her eyes as Persephone stepped up beside Hades.

“Six months every year, I spend alone,” Hades said, his pale fingers weaving with Persephone’s dusky ones. “As a God, we have eternity, but it still aches.”

She didn’t really know what to say to that. “I’m sorry.”

Hades smiled faintly at her, his head inclining.

“You are not immortal,” Persephone said, somehow a little more gentle than before. “Yet you gave up your limited time to save him. Why?”

Sara knew that ‘because’ wasn’t going to be an acceptable answer.

“He died to save me. Only fair I do the same.”

“So you were paying a debt,” Persephone said, glancing up at Hades. His mouth was drawn down as he looked at Sara.

She remained silent and frowned, unsure what they were looking for here.

Persephone nodded after a long moment. “You will remain here for eternity, to wander to Elysium Fields. You will never want for food or sleep, and you will know no pain, no torture. Your eternity will be among the blessed.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Hades echoed. “You’re offered a blessed existence free from pain and that’s all you have to say?”

Sara merely shrugged. “Blessed or not, it’s still death. And I’ve been there, done that. Twice.”

“Mortals have pleaded, worked their whole lives to be placed there,” Persephone said.

“So?”

Persephone scoffed, but Hades’s eyes narrowed. “Then perhaps we’ll switch the deal.”

Persephone and Sara both looked at him.

“Mr. Snart was dead and content with his lot,” Hades began, looking towards the wall. “I can always return him to the Fields and you to the-”

“No!” Sara interrupted the god without hesitation.

“No?” Hades echoed. “Why not? You don’t want this.”

“I’ll take it.”

“But you don’t want it.”

“Why does want matter? Better me than him,” Sara clarified.

“Why is that?”

“Leonard deserves better than eternal nothingness.”

“No,” he said. “Why is it better that it’s you?”

Sara frowned. “I’m not anything-”

“For Kronus’s sake, girl,” Hades interrupted, the shadows growing taller around him, “do you love the man or not?”

Sara stared, her mouth falling open. God (gods?), why was she even hesitating? She was dead. Again. Speaking with creatures of myth. She’d just followed the shade of her fallen teammate and given up everything, but she couldn’t say…

“Yes,” she said, her voice catching. “Yes. I love him.”

Persephone narrowed her eyes at him. “Cheater.”

Hades smiled, a full, wide smile, and Sara could see how a woman would give up six months a year to have that time with him. “You never specified the how, my dear, only that she say it.”

“Fine,” Persephone sighed. She winked at Sara before returning to Hades’s side. “Guess you won’t be going to the Fields after all.”

“Don’t make Len-”

“Neither will he.” Hades spoke over his shoulder, his hand moving in a circle and creating a new portal.

“I don’t understand,” Sara said.

“Eternity is lonely,” Persephone said. “And sometimes, boring. It’s been a long time since we’ve had anyone to make a bet with. So we made one about you.”

“So Len and I were just...what? Playthings to you?”

“Don’t take it personally. We’re gods. You are, quite literally, playthings. Besides, it’s not like we were the ones that killed you.”

Sara took an aggressive step forward, but Hades spoke.

“Since you said it, though, I win, and get to do with your soul as I please.”

She paused, trepidation sinking through her muscles.

“As amusing as it would be to have you remain here, all bluster and anger, you have to finish collecting the creatures you set loose,” Hades said, turning to face her, and revealing he’d known all along that Sara was the one who’d opened the gates to begin with. “If I send you back, you will do your best to return as many creatures as possible, alive or dead, without sacrificing your health and sanity to an...unreasonable degree. Deal?”

“You’re sending me back?” Sara asked.

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” He extended his hand for her to shake.

Sara took a step towards him, but paused. “And Leonard?”

Hades smiled as Persephone slid her arm around his waist.

“I assume you’ll need backup. Do we have a deal?”

Inhaling slowly, she moved towards him, and took his hand in hers. It was cold, biting into her skin and leeching away the warmth, but there was a kind of comfort in the cold, in the knowledge that nothing could hurt her any longer. She shook it once and released his hand. Hades gestured towards the portal. She took a deep breath and just before the plunge, she heard Hades speak.

“I’ll see you again, Sara Lance.”

Then all was darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Gasping, Sara awoke on her back in the grass. She sat up quickly, ignoring the twinge in her arm as she straightened and looked around.

The woods were quiet and empty, save for the chirping of birds. She tried to remember what time it had been when she’d been pulled in with the troll, but she’d had more important things on her mind. This looked like the same clearing they’d been in, and the marks on the ground were definitely in line with their fight, but her team wasn’t here. There was no sign of them being here at all recently. A day or two? More?

She got to her feet, her limbs suddenly aching and tired, as if all the time in the Underworld had suddenly caught up with her. Reaching up, she rubbed her aching shoulder, her fingers sticking in the tacky blood. She stared at her hand for a moment, trying to place the wound.

The Furies.

And faint doubt that it hadn’t been real (she’d dealt with too many insane memories to ever really doubt it), faded at the sight of the blood. It had all been real. Which meant that Leonard-

Shoving her hand into her pocket, Sara pulled out the communicator she’d stashed there earlier and placed it in her ear.

“Hello?” she tried. “ _ WaveRider _ , this is Sara. Does anyone read me?”

There was no response. Not even static. It was dead, then.

Sara started off, remembering where they’d parked the  _ WaveRider _ . If her team was still here, they’d be on the ship. If they weren’t...well, she’d deal with that when she got there. She had to find her ship, convince her crew that Leonard was back, and then...maybe Gideon could find him in the timeline? Or maybe he’d been returned to the Oculus. Mick would growl and glower if she suggested going back there, so maybe she’d have to go alone...her mind began to swim with possibilities, and Sara focused on getting to the ship. One step at a time.

It took a good hour for her to reach the spot they’d left the  _ WaveRider _ . She pushed aside the branches and saw-

An empty clearing.

Her heart sank to her boots, but before she could come to terms with how truly screwed she was, there was a faint shimmer in the air and the renewed hope left her breathless. Not gone, just invisible.

Carefully, Sara moved around the invisible ship, guided by her hands to the hatch and the console next to it. Figuring out where the buttons were took another minute, but she was able to type in her code and the doors opened for her, revealing the now visible cargo bay.

With a sigh of relief, Sara stepped aboard, letting the doors close behind her. She was aboard, which was one big problem solved. She started towards the main bridge. Now, she just had to figure out a way to convince her whole, skeptical crew that Leonard was-

“And I’m telling you, warlock,” a familiar voice was snarling, “I know she’s down there because I just spoke to her!”

“I can’t just send you back to Hell!” Constantine shouted, his temper so slow to flare they must have been at this argument for a while.

“You can, but you won’t,” Leonard clarified. “Sara is down there, right now, and every second we spend up here could be an eternity of-”

She made it to the bridge, pausing at the entrance.

Her crew ranged around the room, wary and on edge, with their hands on their weapons. Charlie was tense, but kept glancing at Mick, who was holding his gun, albeit aimed at the floor. Ray was sporting a colorful bruise across his jaw and eye, and had his arm in front of Zari, who clutched her necklace, though there was no hint of a breeze. Nate was beside her, already metallic. All of their eyes were fixed on Constantine, whose tie was undone and shirt sleeves rolled up in agitation, and who was glaring at a figure Sara could barely see, but knew nonetheless.

She took a step in, uncharacteristically loud as the grate groaned beneath her feet and drew the attention of the occupants.

“Boss?” Mick asked, relaxing further.

“Sara, you’re okay!” Ray said, taking a step toward her.

“You know this guy?” Charlie asked, gesturing to the figure in the middle.

Sara’s mouth opened, but she didn’t know what she was supposed to say.

Stepping out from behind Constantine, Leonard Snart’s shoulders dropped in relief, and he took eight long strides towards her. “Sara.”

Leonard lived up to his proclamations earlier - there was no hesitation as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly and lifting her so that her toes just brushed the ground.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he said into her ear.

“I wasn’t going to let you die again,” she answered. She saw the rest of her crew behind him, varying degrees of disbelief and amazement on their faces, and instead of addressing them, took a selfish moment to close her eyes and press her face into his shoulder.

Leonard’s arms got tighter around her. “If I had known it was you-”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You wanna explain what the hell is going on?” Mick rumbled.

Reluctantly, Sara let go of Leonard, her feet landing on the ground. He released her, but stayed next to her as she addressed Mick.

“I got pulled into the Underworld with the troll. The gods there made a deal, that if I followed a spirit without talking, and without the spirit looking back, we could both leave.”

“Orpheus?” Ray said quietly.

Sara merely shrugged, but Leonard said, “Essentially.”

“And you did it?” Ray asked. “That’s amazing, even Orpheus failed at it.”

“Not quite,” she admitted. “I...fell, and was stuck. And Leonard couldn’t look back without losing his chance. So I spoke and sent him on.”

“Alone?” Constantine asked, though it wasn’t much of a question.

“Yeah.” She looked up at Leonard.

“I got here a couple hours ago,” he said to her silent question. “Took some time to convince them it was me, and we were going to go back and get you.”

“I showed up where we fought the troll.”

“That was two days ago,” Mick said. He seemed at ease, and Sara figured he and Len had already had it out with one another.

Leonard’s brow shot up, but he asked a different question. “I don’t understand. Hades just let you go?”

“Wait, you  _ met  _ Hades?” Ray said, excited. “Was he all James Woods or more Ralph Fiennes?”

“Focus, Ray.”

“Not exactly,” Sara said in response to Leonard’s question. “He and Persephone had made this deal, I guess, and I...fulfilled it. So they sent me back, on the condition we do our best to track down the rest of the creatures we set loose and put them back.”

“Which we’re doing anyway,” Charlie said.

Sara nodded. “Pretty much.”

There was a long beat of silence.

“So...no harm, no foul?” Nate said, shifting back. “So should we just...call this a win, and get some food?”

“Throw some alcohol in there and it sounds good to me,” Constantine said, though his expression made it clear they’d be discussing it again.

The tension disappeared and most of her crew left, Ray and Mick staying to shake Leonard’s hand and give him a hug. Some of their excuses were decent, others painfully thin as they left Sara and Leonard alone on the bridge of the  _ WaveRider _ .

When the echoes of footsteps faded away, Leonard looked back down at Sara. “What was the bargain they made?”

“It wasn’t a big deal, Len. They just...made a bet. And Hades won.”

“Sara.” He grabbed her arm when she went to wave it away as nothing, and she stilled, seeing the concern in her eyes. “You stayed because of me, if you agreed to something that hurt you-”

“No, it was nothing like that,” she assured him. “It was childish. It was nothing.”

“Then what was it?”

“Nothing, I…”

_ “Have to figure out if that clarity after death thing is actually true.” _

_ “And if there’s one thing I hate, it’s uncertainty.” _

_ “I’m not missing out this time.” _

Sara swallowed back the fear her previous deaths had been unable to eradicate, and shoved them right back down to the Valley of the Furies. “Persephone made a bet I wouldn’t admit that I love you.”

His eyes widened just slightly, and his fingers tightened around her wrist.

She shrugged one shoulder. “But I did, so Hades was able to do with my soul as he liked, and he decided to send me back here.”

His smile was so familiar to her, even after years of not seeing it. That same cocky arrogance filled his expression as he took a step nearer to her, and Sara smiled faintly, her eyes darting between his, trying to read his expression.

“So, do you have room on this ship for a thief?”

“Actually,” Sara said quietly, “Constantine took your old room.”

His smile didn’t waver, but she could tell he hadn’t been expecting that.

“But,” she continued, “seeing as how Hades let you stay as my backup, I suppose you could always bunk with me.”

The smile widened into a grin for a half second before he ducked his head to kiss her fiercely. It was nothing like their previous kiss, no tears, no harsh realities, just fire and excitement and hope. His hands cupped her face like something fragile, even as his lips threatened to devour every last bit of air in her lungs. Sara gripped the back of his jacket, holding him as if he’d disappear again. When he finally broke the kiss, it took Sara a few seconds to find the breath to speak.

“Is that a yes, then?” she whispered.

Leonard chuckled, his breath warm against her lips. “Sara Lance, I would follow you straight back into hell if you wanted.” He kissed her quickly again.

Sara grabbed the edges of his jacket and laughed, “Let’s not make any plans to go back anytime soon.”

His arms wound around her waist, tugging her against him. “So, with the gods on our side, you think we could take an afternoon off?”

“Even if they weren’t on our side, we are definitely taking the afternoon off.” She started back to her room, linking her hand with his, leading him forward.

“Knew there was a reason I loved you, Lance.”

Sara smiled to herself, and continued down the hallway.

Her fingers tightened around his, but she didn’t look back to see if he was following her. She didn’t need to check.

He'd always be right behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that fun little foray into the Underworld. It was a small thing that was sparked when I wrote Unheavenly Creatures (which also had a few homages to the Persephone myth), and I'm glad I had some time to do it.
> 
> I have a couple of other things in the works. One small and one medium length story.
> 
> CC forever, baby.


End file.
